ONGOLE : The CSR Sarma College ground was a pacers’ paradise on Tuesday. Winning the toss and opting to field, Tamil Nadu bowlers made use of the conditions to restrict Andhra to 198/8 in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match.Tamil Nadu fielded four pacers and a spinner in R Sai Kishore. With T Natarajan back in the playing XI after recovering from a finger injury, the visitors could not have asked for more than a pitch assisting pacers.
The attack showed enough discipline as the pacers fetched them six of the eight wickets. For Andhra, it was P Jyotisaikrishna and debutant Girinath Reddy, who hit half-centuries to save the team from a collapse as the hosts recovered from 68/4 to 141/5. “It was a good bowling performance. Mainly because the maximum number of overs were bowled by fast bowlers. It’s a good sign for us and it will progress from here. Even in the last two games, we did well to restrict the opponent on Day 1. But at the same time, the wickets column could have been better today,” said Tamil Nadu bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji after the day’s play.
It was the first Ranji game for Natarajan since the defeat of Mumbai in the 2016-17 semifinal. He was sidelined the whole of last season due to knee and elbow injuries. But he took no time to settle. The left-arm pacer struck with his fourth ball removing opener DB Prashanth Kumar.While he looked threatening from his first over, M Mohammed tore apart Andhra’s top-order from the other end. That included Andhra’s leading run-scorer Ricky Bhui. His counterattack was short lived as Mohammed trapped him leg-before for 22.
After a solid performance in the first session, Tamil Nadu were expected to bowl out the opposition. But a determined knock from Jyotisaikrishna (58 off 149 deliveries), who was ably supported by Girinath, took the total to 141/4 at tea.A civil engineer who graduated to construct concrete structures, Jyotisaikrishna proved that he is adept at building an innings as well. While he fell to Mohammed in the second delivery of the third session, Girinath remained unbeaten on 69 to keep the scorecard ticking.
“The ball was coming on to the bat nicely post lunch. I and Jyoti tried to stay at the crease as long as we can and not bother about the run rate or how many wickets we lost. It was important for us to have one good partnership,” said the 20-year-old.In the final session, Sai Kishore came back after a poor spell to dismiss KV Sasikanth and Shoaib Mohammed Khan off consecutive deliveries. The left-arm orthodox bowler will be on a hat-trick on Wednesday.
“This kind of pitch keeps the game alive till the fourth day. That is what we want in a Test or four-day match where there is something for both batsmen and bowlers. We did well to come back and take three wickets in the final session,” remarked Balaji.
srinidhi@newindianexpress.com